on the days in which I wandered around Ireland...

Okay, so I know that this blog is supposed to be about my travels in Africa, but the start of my trip was stopping in Ireland for a few days to visit a great friend. I’ve always wanted to see Ireland, and I can now say that it was exactly the way that I pictured it would be. Beautiful green rolling hills, amazing scenery and truly lovely people. 

It was so wonderful to spend a few days with Clo; seeing where she lives and meeting some of her friends and family. I have to say, she really is the ultimate tour guide, and in three short days we packed in a LOT of site seeing. 

One of our first stops was a lovely place called Powerscourt House & Gardens. A beautiful building with a restaurant, a garden centre, cute little shops and incredible gardens. We had lunch and wandered through the shops for a bit. On the drive to Powerscourt, Clo took me through “P.S. I love you” country. Very gracious of her, considering she really can’t stand that movie! 

Next up was a hike in an area called Glendalough (pronounced Glen-da-lock). The scenery here was amazing, and it was so nice to be out in the fresh air after many hours of traveling the day before. We walked through an old monastery that is home to a tower used by the monks approx. 1200 years ago. 

Around the trails at Glendalough

After a brief stop in for a visit with one of Clo’s good friends, we continued our drive where she had booked us in to stay at Cabra Castle for the night. Seriously... a castle. What a fun experience to be able to wander the halls of such a great building. It was definitely a treat! 

The next day we were on the road again, this time headed for a tour at Knowth and Newgrange; two historic sites in Ireland that contain some of the largest clusters of underground tunnels built under these large mounds. Both sites have been dated back to almost 5000 years. We went on a tour that allowed us to go inside the underground tunnels/tombs. Not every day that you can say you are standing in a structure that was built 5000 years before. It was pretty amazing! 

The mounds at Knowth

Inside the underground tunnels

Beautiful view of the Irish countryside from the top

The stones surrounding the base of the largest mound were carved with  ancient art

The large mound at Newgrange

After heading back to Dublin that afternoon, we went to one of local Irish pubs for dinner, music and some good classic Irish dancing... you know, the Riverdance stuff. Quite entertaining, and a great way to end the evening. 

On Saturday we spent the day walking through downtown Dublin; did a bit of shopping and met up with Clo’s cousin Grainne for lunch. I met her when they came to Vancouver this past summer, so it was great have the chance to catch up. 

And much too quickly, it was time to head back to the airport. I flew back to London on Saturday night; spent the night in the airport, and then caught my flight to Uganda on Sunday morning. I think I am truly convinced now that everyone should have the chance to see Ireland at least once. What an incredible place!